Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your Monday reading.

- Seva Gunitsky discusses how the U.S. is committing hegemonic suicide. Simon Tisdall is about as optimistic as one can be about the Trump regime in arguing that it will represent little more than a blotch in on history in the long run, while Daniel Barkhuff writes that the U.S. resistance is winning by persevering. And Will Saletan et al. comment on Trump's plundering of all available sources of tribute. 

- Samuel Wynn Warde writes that Canada has been able to avoid the worst effects of Trump's capriciousness by (thus far) choosing not to supply the U.S.' war against it. And Cory Doctorow argues that countries can further remove themselves from the whims of the U.S. and its tech giants by repealing anti-circumvention laws which prioritize corporate rentiers over users and citizens. 

- Sam Sutton points out that the wealthiest few are predictably making a killing off of Trump's corruption without any benefit finding its way past the upper classes. And Curtis Fric comments on new polling showing that Canadians view the economic system as biased in favour of the rich.  

- Anna Isaac notes that tech billionaires have raked in half a trillion dollars in AI-based valuation based on little more than laughable spin. Aisha Down and Dan Milmo discuss Nvidia's attempts to avoid becoming the next Enron or Lucent, though the main difference seems to be that its need for constant expansion to support its business model is out in the open. And each of Emily Sanders and Morgan Bazalian and Brandon Owens highlight how AI's greenwashed messages and promises are utterly contrary to its reliance on dirty fossil fuels. 

- Oliver Milman reports on new polling showing that even a strong majority of U.S. voters see the climate crisis as affecting their food supply and cost of living. And Steven Morris reports on the National Trust's latest observations on the worsening of extreme weather. 

- Finally, University of California - Riverside examines the effects of microplastics in clogging arteries and fueling heart disease. Which makes Mark Carney's decision to enable single-use plastics exports look like nothing but a choice to sell out people's health in order to prop up the oil sector. 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- David Suzuki writes about the desperate need to loosen the grip a few megalomaniacal billionaires have over political and economic decision-making. And Matt McManus' review of The Democratic Marketplace examines how policies which cater to capitalism are undermining democracy. 

- Paul Krugman discusses what affordability really means in the eyes of the public - with inclusion, security and fairness ultimately meaning more than snapshots comparing immediate income to prices. And Robert Renger points out the obvious imbalance when corporations are routinely treated as too big to fail, while people (and marginalized groups thereof) are treated as too insignificant to be worth helping. 

- Patricia Cohen writes about the implausible valuation of AI-based corporations - together with the reality that any prospect of their producing returns commensurate with their current prices depends on further undermining the position of workers. And so when the Economist notes that businesses haven't been taking up AI at the pace its evangelists demand, the result is likely better in any event. 

- Meanwhile, Chris Hannay reports on the lack of reason to think the UCP's enabling of private medicine will do anything but shift resources away from an already-overloaded public system. 

- Finally, John Woodside discusses how Mark Carney has been using a past (if questionable) reputation for climate concern as cover to govern for the oil industry. And Carl Meyer and Drew Anderson examine how Carney's pipeline deal with Danielle Smith undermines multiple climate policies to rely solely on weakened industrial emission rules, at a time when the default to keep our planet habitable should be "all of the above". 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Connie Loizos warns that the growth of "buy now, pay later" financing for the essentials of life parallels the wider use of unsustainable debt as a substitute for improvements in standards of living. And Umair Irfan discusses how the Trump regime's hostility to electric vehicles is making all kinds of car ownership even more expensive. 

- Carole Cadwalladr weighs in on the glaringly obvious artificial intelligence bubble, while Ketan Joshi discusses how Meta is polluting our physical and information environments alike with its AI garbage. And Laura Rodriguez Salamanca points out how Microsoft and Google data centre projects (which normally proceed only due to massive public subsidies) predictably produce far fewer jobs than promised.  

- Geoffrey Johnston highlights the urgent need to rein in a worsening climate crisis, while Donna Lu reports on a new simulation suggesting that the damage carbon pollution has already done to our planet  in the form of extreme heat waves will be felt for a millenium. Anupreeta Das reports on the devastating general effects of heat stress on women in India, while Anuradha Nagaraj tells the story of one worker in particular about the realities of living in temperatures up to 50 degrees Celsius. Andn John Harris discusses how the UK is building large amounts of new housing in areas which will soon be flooded due to the climate breakdown. 

- Harrison Samphir discusses how Canada's civil service is bracing for the effects of a Carney austerity budget, while Nancy Wilson points out that one of the anticipated effects of slashing public jobs is to prevent women from receiving pay equity payments. And Aaron Wherry notes that Carney's choices can plausibly be seen as those of a small-c progressive conservative. 

- Finally, Charles Rusnell examines how Alberta's obsession with privatized surgery continues to enrich donors while underming the public health care system and its patients. And Eva Uguen-Csenge, Shelley Ayres and Steven D'Souza report on Health Canada's rejection of expert advice about the effectiveness of safe supply programs (and the carnage which is resulting from their elimination). 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Catarina Saraiva and Jaewon Kang warn that the U.S. economy is a Jenga tower in which pieces needed to support the middle class are being systematically removed. Bloomberg's editorial board examines the national scope of the U.S.' gambling problem - with sports betting as just part of the drain on workers. And Public Citizen traces the connections between Donald Trump's ballroom bribe solicitation and hundreds of billions of dollars in federal contract awards. 

- Meanwhile, Rebecca Schneid discusses how Zohran Mamdani has offered a vitally important reminder that oligarchs can't buy elections in the face of public organization. Emma Goldberg and Benjamin Oreskes highlight how Mamdani recognized and responded to the young voters who have been facing a loneliness crisis. Ian Welsh views Mamdani's focus on affordability - coupled with positive solutions  based on collective power rather than mere finger-pointing - as the model Democrats need to seize upon. And Moustafa Bayoumi writes that Mamdani was rewarded for defending his values, while Moira Donegan implores the rest of the Democratic Party to learn from his success. 

- Climate Action Tracker's latest evaluation of Canada's climate policy finds that we're headed in the wrong direction under the Carney Libs even as the cost of inaction becomes ever more stark. Markham Hislop discusses the dangers of letting the oil industry's false assumptions and empty promises take precedence over planning for an affordable and sustainable future. And Bob Weber examines how the UCP has set out to stick the public with perpetually more cleanup costs in order to ensure oil companies  operating in Alberta can escape responsibility for the messes they're making. 

- Finally, Katie Kavanagh offers a reminder that COVID-19 is still around even as basic measures to track and control it have long since been abandoned. And Michael Le Page reports on a new study showing that exposure to COVID raises the risk of heart issues in children - in contrast to the protective effects of vaccination. 

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Andrew Phillips discusses how the Trump administration is looking to rewrite history in dealing with North American trade. And Thor Benson interviews David Roberts about the absolute nonsense being relied upon as the U.S.' excuse for scrapping any climate policy, while Paris Marx points out the haze of misinformation obstructing Canada's ability to respond to wildfires. 

- Alexander Kaufman highlights how Trump's edict that nobody transition away from dirty power will cost the U.S. immense amounts of money in addition to leaving it as a technological laggard, while Rachel Melta notes that an investment in energy storage alongside a push toward renewables would save consumers billions in the central U.S. alone. And Katye Altieri and Dave Jones discuss why it's important that far too many governments are refusing to commit to developing clean energy, while Jo Lauder notes that China is one of the few major countries on track to become an electrostate in the near future. 

- Steph Kwetásel’wet Wood discusses how drought is becoming an increasingly regular and severe problem in Canada, with both the climate crisis and an obsession with data centres looming as obvious causes. And Ben Martynoga reports on new research showing that microbes being released by melting ice can exacerbate the effects of climate change in polar regions. 

- Finally, the Canadian Press reports on a new survey showing that over a third of Canadian renters are having to spend over half of their income on housing. And Simon Enoch calls out Scott Moe for his ideological refusal to consider rent controls as the Sask Party looks to serve landlords rather than workers. 

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- David Lurie discusses how Donald Trump is making flagrant corruption and theft legal for himself and his cronies, while inventing specious excuses to treat anybody who dares to register any opposition as a criminal. Jon Queally points out the predictability of a fascist government rounding up and demonizing labour leaders as a key attack on collective action. And Michelle Goldberg writes about the emergence of autocracy under the Trump regime. 

- Meanwhile, Jeet Heer highlights many of the obvious reasons why the Democrats need to have higher standards than to agree with Elon Musk when he starts disagreeing with Trump's division of the spoils - though even if one wasn't inclined to act on principle, it's hard to see any upside in aligning a party with one of the few public figures more broadly loathed than Trump in any event. 

- Natasha Bulowski reports on the needed pushback against Mark Carney's plans to gut federal regulatory processes for the benefit of corporations pursuing pipelines and other megaprojects. And Morgan Grenfell points out how Doug Ford's cronies will profit from similar legislation designed to squelch public participation and environmental oversight. 

- Ed Zitron reminisces about a time when the tech industry spent at least some time developing products that actually served users, rather than being designed to bleed people dry. And Luke Goldstein and Freddy Brewster report that the government capture by U.S. cryptobros includes pushing to allow banks to raid people's savings and checking accounts to bail out crypto speculators. 

- Finally, Katherine Scott discusses how low-income families in Canada have less disposable income than ever. 

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- David Suzuki and Ian Hanington write about the importance of a courageous approach to climate change policy, while Nature's editorial board discusses the desperate need for decision-makers to start acting like adults. But it should come as no surprise that the Trump regime's responses to a threat to our living environment boil down to YOU CAN'T MAKE ME! and LALALALAICAN'THEARYOU!. 

- Meanwhile, Drew Anderson points out that the posturing about separatism from Danielle Smith (and Scott Moe) is aimed solely at strongarming the federal government into letting fossil fuel tycoons dictate policy. And Dharna Noor reports on new revelations into how oil and plastics producers have been lying about the limitations on chemical recycling. 

- Eric Wickham reports that major Canadian grocers have refused to provide even basic information to the federal government as they claim their ability to seek out windfall profits takes precedence over people's access to food. And that contempt for affordability has obvious political effects, as Emma Paling reports that cost of living was a major input into Pierre Poilievre's Con rage farm. 

- Saira Peesker reports on new research showing the links between ultra-processed food and numerous health risks. 

- Finally, Katya Schwenk reports on airlines' sale of passenger data to ICE in the U.S. And Alison Northcott reports that in addition to diverting resources out of the public health care system, private clinics in Canada have been selling health data to big pharma to further goose their profits. 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Stephen Marche discusses how the overriding objective of the U.S.' corporate elite is absolute impunity. Ariella Markowitz writes about the decades-long astroturf effort to undermine the use of taxes both to raise revenue and rein in inequality. Bob Lord points out how the rich are lying about paying their fair share of taxes. And Alec MacGillis discusses how the Trump regime is waging war on public data generally to make sure people can't see how they're being affected by a fascist kleptocracy

- Meanwhile, Katya Schwenk and Luke Goldstein note that Trump is facilitating the use of surveillance pricing to enable price gouging. And Raymond Patterson, Emily Laidlaw and Jian Zhang discuss how the result is the imposition of higher prices on the people who can least afford them, with the result being the deliberate exacerbation of inequality. 

- Jim Stanford examines the problems with treating per-capita GDP as a proxy for well-being as it rewards profits on paper while punishing the presence of people. Daniel Horen Greenford writes about the need for Canada's election to include a reckoning with the failure of neoliberal economics - even as Mark Carney promises more of the same turbocharged by the use of AI. And Peggy Nash notes that we should be moving past merely buying Canadian to pursuing public ownership of the necessities of life and strategic resources.

- Armine Yalnizyan examines the major parties' plans when it comes to affordability and the cost of living. And The Narwhal sets out what's on offer for environmental policy and resource management. 

- Calder McHugh highlights how Pierre Poilievre's choice to pattern his every message and policy after Donald Trump has come back to bite him as voters recognize the dangers posed by the Trump regime. Andrew Coyne warns that Poilievre is planning to undermine Charter rights as an end in itself, rather than a means to any policy goal. And Charlie Angus examines what would stand to be lost if a Canada version of DOGE is imposed. 

- Finally, Sinead Campbell reports on new research showing that a sixth of the Earth's cropland is comtaminated by toxic heavy metals. And Rhian Lubin reports on a far-reaching E.coli outbreak in American produce which was concealed from the public.

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Osita Nwanevu writes that Donald Trump has fundamentally changed the story of the U.S. from one of (however unfulfilled) promise to one of chaotic evil. Adam Clark writes about the "sell America" movement coursing through every market and economic structure that has relied on some measure of stability, while Paul Krugman points out the direct costs that will impose on the U.S. And Julia Carrie Wong weighs in on the war against empathy being waged by the worst people in the world. 

- Jonathan Cohn examines the wide range of products which stand to become unaffordable for Americans due to Trump's tariffs on China in particular. 

- Fonie Mitsopoulou reports that Trump's demands abroad include ensuring that major carbon polluters (in the shipping industry and elsewhere) are never required to pay for their damage to our planet. Deborah Brum discusses the U.S.' ugly history of tainted food which Trump is looking to restart by eliminating any effective regulation. And Kat Lay warns that the evisceration of public health programs in the developing world projects to result in a surge of diseases which had largely been contained. 

- Finally, John Woodside discusses new polling showing that Canadians are looking for a vision to disentangle us from the U.S. and chart a path for the future. Ayaka Naganuma examines some of the options available to ensure a just transition to a clean energy economy. And David Moscrop theorizes that the combination of competitiveness, policy implications and general interest could lead to a higher turnout than we've seen in decades. 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Matt Simon discusses the continued escalation of global temperatures to record highs (which only figure to be exceeded in the years to come). Arno Kopecky writes about the haunting spectre of a burned-out Jasper, while Katharine Gammon warns that we're all test subjects for the dangerous health effects of wildfire smoke. And Pepukaye Bardouille highlights how disaster response mechanisms for vulnerable areas are woefully inadequate for the new baseline for climate-related events. 

- Meanwhile, Richard Schiffman interviews Kristie Ebi about the reality that already-appalling heat death tolls likely represent significant undercounts. And Valerie Volcovici reports on research showing that industry-reported methane emissions likely represent only a quarter of the actual fast-acting carbon pollution being spewed by fossil fuel operators. 

- Andrew Nikiforuk points out the risks of eliminating early-warning systems for COVID-19 and other infectious diseases, while Trish Greenhalgh discusses the unpredictable and jarring course of long COVID. And while Tamara Schneider's reporting on the potential development of an effective nasal vaccine to prevent COVID transmission, it's not clear that policymakers determined to operate in denial will bother to facilitate and encourage its use. 

- Muneeb Javaid and Silas Xuereb discuss how the affordability crisis facing the Canadian working class is the result of corporate greed rather than carbon pricing. Rowan Burdge, Anastasia French and Véronique Sioufi warn that the good intentions behind British Columbia's anti-poverty strategy aren't being matched with action. And Rebecca Plavin and Dakota Smith reports that a basic income trial in Los Angeles is just the latest example of how a modicum of income security can produce immense benefits for recipients and society at large. 

- Finally, Justin Ling reports on the costly and conflict-ridden consultants being used by the Trudeau government as a poor substitute for a properly funded and supported civil service. 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Lauren Chadwick reports on the WHO's findings that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a multi-year drop in life expectancy and undone a decade of health progress. Eric Topol and Ziyad Al-Aly examine the results of a new study showing that long COVID is linked to a large number of adverse health outcomes 3 years after an initial hospitalization. And Dan Luo et al. identify one possible mechanism by which COVID-19 may cause heart problems. 

- Amy Janzwood discusses the immense financial and environmental costs of the TMX pipeline which the Libs have chosen to prioritize over anything which could actually reduce carbon pollution. And Eric Van Rythoven notes that the spread of carbon tariffs among countries who don't share the Cons' denial of climate science would render Pierre Poilievre's anti-pricing sloganeering completely ineffective. 

- Marissa Alexander and Wade Thorhaug discuss how soaring food prices are the result of corporate control over the our food supply. And David Wainer points out that increased private equity involvement in U.S. health care has resulted in further ballooning costs in what was already a grossly unaffordable medical system.  

- Finally, Susan Jane Wright writes about the importance of taking to the streets in response to Danielle Smith's anti-democratic governance. But David Climenhaga notes that the UCP's contempt for voters includes a plan to dictate who's actually allowed to cast a ballot in order to have a say in how they're governed. And Charles Rusnell warns that the Alberta Legislature appears to be going out of its way to hire disgraced violent former police officers to control one of the most important public spaces in the province. 

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Sueellen Campbell highlights how record-breaking temperatures are being covered around the globe, while Sarah Collins discusses new research showing that the northern hemisphere's summer of 2023 was the hottest in millenia. And Qi Zhao et al. examine the growing death toll from heatwaves around the world even before the unprecedented warming of the last few years. 

- Michael Mann and Katharine Hayhoe make the case that the antidote to doom is doing. But Natalie Alcoba reports on the torrent of threats and abuse directed at Charlie Angus for proposing even the most modest limits on climate-destroying propaganda. And Drew Anderson reports that the UCP's reality denialism extends to an outright refusal to accept direct evidence that their ban on renewables was entirely the result of a political order, while Neel Dhanesha takes a look at the "news mirages" being set up by dirty energy operators to substitute fossil fuel PR for any actual reporting which might expose their pollution or corruption. 

- Hazel Sheffield reports on new research showing that UK corporations hiked their prices far beyond the rate of any cost increases to goose their profits at public expense. 

- Finally, Kate Dubinski discusses a study confirming that the costs of homelessness impose an even greater burden on an already-overwhelmed health care sector. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Maanvi Singh reports on the corporate purchase of water rights in Arizona which signals the diversion of the necessities of life to the highest bidder once greed and mismanagement have undermined their availability. 

- Drew Anderson writes about the similar water crisis facing Alberta (and the rest of the prairie provinces who rely on the water which originates there). Michael Franklin reports on the new awareness of sulfolane contamination, as a chemical whose primary purpose is to "sweeten" fossil fuel operations risks making water resources unusable. And Margaret McGregor, Ulrike Meyer, Amira Aker and Élyse Caron-Beaudoin discuss the public health harms caused by fracking. 

- Jim Handy rightly argues that our current state of climate negligence will appear absolutely inexplicable from a historical perspective. But John Woodside reports on the swarm of dirty energy lobbyists who pushed to prioritize extraction and short-term returns over people's well-being in advance of the federal budget alone. And Fatima Syed reports on the Ford PCs' decision to make homeowners subsidize a continued flow of profits for Enbridge in the name of housing affordability. 

- Meanwhile, John Clarke discusses how we won't make any progress in making housing more available without making an effort to decommodify it. And Patrick Rail reports on Equifax' latest data showing that half of Canadians are living paycheque to paycheque as corporate profiteers extract every possible nickel from consumers. 

- Finally, Trevor Tombe highlights why higher taxes on capital gains make sense even based on pure economic theory - which of course won't stop the Cons and the anti-tax brigade from pretending that preferential treatment for the wealthy few is somehow an issue of affordability for the general public. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Sonia Sodha discusses how children will bear the brunt of COVID's effects for years due to decision-makers have prioritized short-term profits and frivolities over their futures. And Clare Wilson reports on new research showing how investing in air filtration can limit the ongoing effects of the pandemic. 

- Jennifer Lee reports on the strain being put on Alberta's health care system by yet another uncontrolled wave of COVID-19. Avis Favaro reports both on new data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information showing that over a million patients left Canadian emergency rooms without care in the 2022-2023 year, and CIHI findings that soaring rates of errors and patient harms can be traced to increased overtime and use of private agency staff as a substitute for supporting health care workers. And Colette Derworiz reports on the first medical clinic to opt out of Saskatchewan's public health care system as the Moe government continues to offer nothing but neglect. 

- Johan Rockstrom and Mary Robinson write about the desperate need to stop gambling with our living environment. And John Woodside discusses how carbon capture and storage is a lose-lose bet: serving at best as a fig leaf for increased fossil fuel production, and at worst as a constant threat to release exactly the carbon pollution it's theoretically supposed to contain. 

- Finally, Peter Armstrong writes that while inflation is cooling down in theory, the combination of hiked prices and increased interest rates is still causing severe affordability problems for all but the wealthiest few. And Sophia Harris reports on the continued use of shrinkflation by the food industry to hide how people are getting less for what they pay. 

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Eric Reinhart discusses the importance of approaching public health from a collective perspective, rather than presuming health is simply a matter of individual-level choices. And Michael Hiltzik highlights the usual combination of dishonesty and ignorance behind yet another set of talking points intended to undermine masking as a protection against COVID-19 and other communicable diseases.

- Daphne Bramham writes about the dangers of allowing the corporate sector to take over health care, while Alex Ballingall and Raisa Patel report on the apparent big pharma takeover of Canadian prescription drug policy. And Ryan Gabrielson and J. David McSwane offer an appalling look at what happens when for-profit healthcare meets a religious-based immunity from regulation. 

- Armine Yalnizyan writes that the most important headwind facing Canada's economy is a lack of affordability, rather than any concern about inflation. But Peter Armstrong reports that the Bank of Canada is bent on hiking interest rates with the theoretical intention of meeting inflation targets - no matter how much damage it does to people, and how little it accomplishes as corporations continue to profiteer.

- Stefan Gossling and Andreas Humpe examine the carbon emissions of the wealthy, and find that millionaires alone stand to eat up over two-thirds of humanity's remaining carbon budget by 2050.

- Finally, Don Braid discusses how Danielle Smith and the UCP are determined to squelch any criticism of their plans to take pensions and policing under politicized provincial control. And Howard Leeson writes that the spin being used to push Scott Moe's plan to expel the RCMP from Saskatchewan (again in favour of a provincially-controlled police service) doesn't hold water.

#Elxn44 Roundup

The latest from Canada's federal election campaign.

- PressProgress takes a look at the housing plans on offer - finding the NDP's plan to be the best of the major parties, but still falling short of ensuring the right to housing is met. Jonas Goldman, Anna Jessop and Aline Coutinho examine the climate change and environmental policies of the three main contenders. And John McNally and Mohsina Atiq connect the two issues by highlighting how housing affordability is vital to an effective climate plan. 

- Meanwhile, Ian Young reveals how the extreme rise in housing prices in Vancouver can be traced substantially to foreign capital. 

- Rosa Saba examines the weaknesses in Canada's Employment Insurance system - along with the need for stronger action to protect unemployed workers than is currently on the table. 

- Larry Savage offers a needed reality check for people pitching strategic voting, concluding that it fails miserably in its stated purpose of defeating Conservatives while often diverting votes toward undeserving Liberals. 

- Paul Wells theorizes that successful federal election campaigns have tended to focus on benefits for voters, rather than appeals to values. 

- Finally, Enzo DiMatteo reflects on Jack Layton's determined optimism, and its continued relevance in an election where so much bandwidth is being used trying to persuade people to accept less than what's possible. 

Relentless

The Libs' choice of themes to start off a needless federal election campaign is telling mostly in the contast it presents between their self-image, and the obvious realities facing people living under their government.

After all, there are plenty of issues which have been properly described as "relentless".

‘Relentless’ climate crisis intensified in 2020, says UN report | Climate change | The Guardian https://t.co/bhZL7k4K0T

— Reto Knutti (@Knutti_ETH) April 19, 2021

For example, there's the climate crisis which is approaching worst-case scenarios, even as the Libs' plans fall short of meeting the targets they once (rightly) slammed as far insufficient.

New cases of COVID-19 continue to climb. The relentless march of the Delta variant, particularly in states with low vaccination rates, is to blame.

More here: https://t.co/zoSI0rL92s#COVID19 #COVID #SCDHEC #AU #UniversityHospital #DoctorsHospital #AUHealth #theaugustapress

— The Augusta press (@AugustaPress) August 6, 2021

There's the ongoing - and indeed escalating - pandemic which the Libs have chosen to gloss over in their pursuit of unfettered power.

Would you like an optimistic take on the Canadian housing market? Well, too bad! https://t.co/zNn0sU2KtA by @mattgurney #onpoli #cdnpoli

— The Agenda | TVO (@TheAgenda) August 12, 2021

There's an escalating affordability crisis, including a lack of access to housing exacerbated by the Libs' choice to fund returns for developers rather than homes for people who need them.

Alex Hemingway: One year later: Canadian billionaire wealth up by $78 billion, via @VancouverSun https://t.co/5fQwEmiQ1H

— Seth Klein (@SethDKlein) April 19, 2021

And there's the massive concentration of wealth in the hands of billionaires, even as an outright majority of Canada's population teeters on the brink of insolvency.

In the face of those problems which actually pose constant threats to our health and well-being, the Libs' consistent response has been...to do as little as they can get away with, while focusing on what matters more to them. And if Trudeau manages to grab another majority, we can look forward to four more years of his relentlessly shirking his responsibility to look out for the well-being of Canadians.

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Aaron D'Andrea reports on Dr. Theresa Tam's recognition that most of Canada is now firmly trapped in a fourth wave of COVID. Alexander Quon reports on research confirming that the people avoiding vaccines are also the least likely to take other protective measures. Robyn Urback discusses how vaccine mandates may actually offer relief for people currently on the fence. And Christine Gibson asks what Alberta plans to do about the lasting effects of a disease which creates long-term problems for its victims. 

- The Broadbent Institute highlights how Canadians are dealing with substantial anxiety over affordability and economic stability as a federal election looms.

- Robert Hiltz writes about both the need for the election to include serious talk about climate change - and the risk that we'll end up falling for empty rhetoric rather than electing MPs who will actually insist on action. Fiona Harvey and Giles Tremlett report on the IPCC's research showing that greenhouse gas emissions need to peak globally within four years - and be halved over the next decade - in order to avoid climate breakdown. Adam Tooze points out that the U.S.' push for more oil production makes it difficult to take seriously in claiming to want to do its part. And Norm Farrell notes that the result of massive natural gas subsidies in British Columbia has been increased production but reduced public revenue at a time when any fossil fuel development is mostly spun as a matter of gathering resources to fund a transition. 

- Meanwhile, David Moscrop reminds us that the wealthiest few are planning to spend their way into isolated bunkers to avoid the damage they're doing to the environment the rest of us rely on. And Ainsley Harris writes about Katie Porter's success in both calling out those who exploit everybody else to accumulate wealth and power, and development means to improve the lives of people who can't pay for lobbyists to torque the government apparatus in their favour.

- Canadians for Tax Fairness offers its approval to the NDP's plans to ensure that wealthy people pay more of their fair share. 

- Finally, Hiltz also comments on Canada's history of undermining both any meaningful definition of genocide, and any substantial effort to measure our treatment of Indigenous people against it. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Armine Yalnizyan highlights how our failure to put adequate resources into the caring sector stands in the way of both a COVID recovery and sustainable longer-term economic development.

- Jessica Wildfire writes that our economy has been set up to be unaffordable for nearly everybody in order to allow profits to be skimmed off the top of everything we do. And Bob Lord discusses how a fair and progressive tax system is a must to avoid the toxic concentration of wealth in the hands of a greedy few.

- Joe Nocera comments on the importance of seizing a moment in which workers and unions are rightly seen as a necessary collective counterweight to corporate control.

- John Clarke writes about the need to develop class solidarity across international borders, rather than presuming that the fate of individual politicians or states represents an acceptable proxy for the public interest. And Lachlan Markey notes that the U.S. is seeing a concerted effort to push the Biden administration leftward. 

- Finally, Aaron Wherry discusses Erin O'Toole's failed attempt to have the Cons pay so much as lip service to the climate crisis. And Gillian Steward points out how the Cons have chosen to render themselves irrelevant to discussion around one of the most important issues we face - particularly as the implausible attempt to undermine even modest action through the courts has failed.

On diverging paths

Tonight's Saskatchewan leadership debate will include plenty of back-and-forth as to whether we should vote for a better government, or settle for staying the course. And in answering that question, it's worth taking a look at exactly what the status quo involves.

Back when Scott Moe was threatening a spring election, the Saskatchewan NDP released this (based on the state of household finances prior to COVID-19:

Yet even that understates the depth of the challenges now facing Saskatchewan's residents after 13 years of Sask Party rule.

It's bad enough that a relatively large number of people were getting pushed into bankruptcy even before the pandemic struck. But Saskatchewan now ranks second in Canada in the rate of mortgage deferrals since those became available in March, with nearly one in seven mortgages being put off. 

At best, that means many people have been forced to accept terms which will likely prove costly in the long run. And at worst, it means homeowners will see repayment obligations resuming at a time when there's little hope of meeting them.  

Similarly, as Mickey Djuric noted in reporting on this year's pittance of a minimum wage increase which leaves Saskatchewan's workers behind the rest of the country, the Sask Party's refusal to consider a living wage has overlapped with a period of exceptionally high inflation - meaning workers are facing higher costs on Canada's lowest incomes.  

No wonder then that our food bank usage - already the highest in the country - only figured to be increasing during the course of the coronavirus pandemic.

Yet after all that, the Sask Party's response remains one best expressed in the form of tumbleweeds.

Oh, they've found money in their platform for large power users, profitable businesses, and people who can afford major home renovations. But if you're struggling to pay your mortgage in the first place - or relying on charity to put food on the table due to exceptionally low wages - they're promising little other than cuts for another four years.

And a path which sees much of our province forced into such desperate circumstances isn't one we should be looking to follow.